Drool
by chocolate365
Summary: Lance finds Ilana asleep after too much homework. After an unfortunate mishap, Ilana discovers something about the corporal she never thought possible. Funny, cute Ilanca oneshot. THANKS TO CRYSTAL PERSIAN FOR THE STORY IDEA.


He wasn't overprotective.

Really.

He was, after all, just doing his job.

So it was perfectly normal to check in on her…right?

After all, she'd been acting strange when they'd gotten home from school that afternoon.

—_Flashback—_

"_No."_

_ Lance stared at Ilana, dumbfounded. "What?"_

_ "I said no. I can't go jogging today, Lance. I have way too much homework. I've got extra assignments in Calc, a paper in Chemistry, the science project for the fair to finish, the history test tomorrow, not to mention—"_

_ Lance put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, you can't go. I understand."_

"Thanks. I'm just so tired I'd probably pass out in the middle of it anyway." Ilana tried to joke, but it backfired. Lance was immediately on I'm-your-protector-and-you-need-your-sleep mode.

_ "Are you sure you're okay? You could just go to bed and try to get some extra rest…" Lance tried to persuade her._

_ Ilana huffed. "No! Look, Lance, I appreciate your concern, but I need to get this homework done. I'll fail my classes if I don't."_

_ He rolled his eyes. Lance had never seen the importance of school anyway. He wouldn't have blamed her if she'd just slacked off and done nothing. She was fighting for her life on a regular basis, after all. Surely school wouldn't be a top priority._

_ But he'd found that Ilana was quite different than other girls. She took school very seriously and had a meltdown if she didn't get an A-plus in a class. She had to be on the honor roll and have perfect records and all that. He'd just thought she was crazy until he'd gotten to know her better. Lance had begun to understand that Ilana wasn't one for shortcuts. He liked that._

_ So instead of making some smart remark about her taking homework too seriously, he just said, "Well, do you want to eat something first?"_

_ "No, no, I just need to be alone," she mumbled, stacking books into her arms. "I'll be in my room if anything…happens."_

_ "Right," Lance replied, watching her go._

—_End Flashback—_

So that found Lance lying on his bed at ten thirty in the evening, wondering if he should go check on her. He hadn't heard a peep from her room since she'd trudged up to it at four o'clock.

"Maybe I should just check in and see if she's still up, or hungry," he reasoned to himself. That wouldn't be too creepy, right?

So why was he still hesitating?

"Just go," he told himself exasperatedly, getting up off of the bed.

He tiptoed down toward Ilana's room, hoping she wouldn't be too upset or anything. He hoped she was just still working quietly and wouldn't even notice he was there.

No such luck.

He quietly pushed the door open to see that Ilana was sleeping soundly with her head atop her history book. Her mouth was open slightly and she made an almost inaudible breathy sigh as she slept. Her hair splayed out across the desk and her eyelashes were fluttering.

Lance took a moment to realize he'd been staring. He shook it off and tiptoed toward her. "Ilana?" he asked softly. "You awake?"

She didn't stir and he smiled. She was well and truly passed out. Now the only problem was…he couldn't just leave her sitting like that. She'd be really sore in the morning. It looked really uncomfortable.

Lance sighed to himself. He knew what he had to do.

He bent down and slowly, very gently, picked her up. He then carried her to the bed and carefully laid her down on the bedspread. Draping a thick blanket over her, he took off her shoes and jewelry.

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. She was in bed and asleep. Whew.

Then she shifted and Lance concentrated on her face. To his amazement he thought to himself, _she's really pretty._

Well, she was. Her soft blonde hair draped her face. Her freckles seemed to dance even in sleep. Her long eyelashes tickled her cheeks slightly as she breathed deeply. She smelled lightly of peppermint and gingerbread.

He didn't realize he was so close to her face until she moved. He yelped lightly and was about to jump back when Ilana's arm stretched out and swung around his neck. He froze. Before he could attempt to wriggle out, she brought her arm toward herself with surprising strength and pulled him onto the bed next to her.

Lance was completely nonplussed. He didn't know what to do. He was stuck next to her on the bed like some sort of demented teddy bear. Her arms were tightly wrapped around him, so the only way to escape would be to wake her up. She looked so peaceful, with a slight smile on her sleeping face, that he just couldn't do it.

So instead he laid there, trying not to wake her up or fall asleep if he could help it. After all, what would Ilana think if…he…stayed…the whole…

He drifted off before he could complete his thought.

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When Ilana awoke, she snuggled against a warm blanket. She could feel the sun shining through the windows to hit her face just right. Smiling, she lifted her face slightly. Since when did she have a blanket that smelled this good? It smelled like pine trees and cinnamon. She inhaled, letting serenity wash over her.

Ilana opened her eyes.

She nearly had a heart attack.

The "blanket" she'd been snuggling wasn't a blanket at all. It was a person. It was Lance!

Holy mother of cheesy bread.

Ilana then realized her arms were wrapped around him, and his around her. He was still asleep, smiling as he nuzzled up against her.

She was frozen in shock. What…?

She looked down and realized she was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Then memories reached her and she put together that Lance must've put her to bed last night.

Smiling again, she looked at her companion. His mouth was opened slightly and a small puddle of drool was gathering on her pillow. She made a face.

Ilana then started to giggle as a rather noisy snoring sound came out of Lance's mouth. He shifted and drool began to drip onto the pillow again. Ilana was shaking with laughter. She couldn't help it. Who knew the impassive, emotionless corporal drooled and snored in his sleep?

Unfortunately, her giggling awoke Lance with a start. He gazed around blearily, then seemed to recall where he was. His eyes widened.

"Good morning, Lance," Ilana said, suppressing giggles. "Sleep well?"

Lance's face flooded with color. "Oh. Um. I—I…"

Ilana couldn't help it. Lance being flustered was too much. She burst out into full laughter.

"What's so funny?" Lance demanded.

"You—you drool in your sleep," Ilana choked out.

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do. I saw it. Look, it's still there, in a puddle on my pillow." She retorted.

Lance glared at her. "You know what this means, right?"

"What's that?" Ilana asked, almost fearfully.

"You must be silenced!" he cried, pouncing atop Ilana. She shrieked for mercy as he tickled her to death. He pinpointed all of her most sensitive ticklish spots and tickled like his life depended on it.

"Lance, stop! La—ance, p-p-please!" Ilana stuttered, starting to crack from the tickle torment.

Finally, Lance stopped and loomed over her with a smirk. "Now, will you be telling anyone about my drooling habit?"

"No," Ilana breathed, trying to catch her breath.

"Good," Lance whispered. Ilana jumped as she realized he was really close to her.

"Now let's go get some breakfast, hmm?" Lance asked her, his breath tickling her ear.

"Yeah," she mumbled, trying to concentrate.

Just as she thought she'd start hyperventilating, Lance chuckled and picked her up. He threw her over his shoulder.

"Lance!"

Lance just laughed as he carried her downstairs.

Ilana wasn't worried about homework anymore, at least.

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**Done! Yay!**

**Okay, so I really enjoyed writing this. Don't ask me why. I just really loved this piece. We all need a little Ilanca fluffiness now and then, right? **

**THANKS TO CRYSTAL PERSIAN! This story is again dedicated to you for coming up with this oneshot idea. It was really adorable and cute.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Sym-Bionic Titan. Huff.**

**Remember, I accept ideas I like for oneshots!**

**Be sure to check out my other Sym-Bionic Titan stories/oneshots!**

**Bye now.**


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